A UPND seat won by 482 votes in August has been nullified, according to a report on Thursday evening. The Zambian Observer, citing Mwebantu, reported that Judge Kazimbe Chenda, sitting at Livingstone, has set aside the election of Emeldah Munashabantu as Member of Parliament for Mapatizya, in Zimba District, on the petition of the independent candidate Clive Darius Miyanda. The Electoral Commission of Zambia was the second respondent. Mwebantu's own report, headlined that Mapatizya is now without an MP, could not be read by this desk, which has relied on the Observer's account of the judgment; no other outlet had reported the ruling by Friday morning.
As reported, the judgment separates the two grounds of the petition. The allegation of misconduct against Munashabantu was dismissed, because none was proved. The allegation of procedural irregularity, particularly in what happened after voting closed, succeeded. The court is reported to have found that the ECZ did not conduct the post-voting electoral processes substantially in accordance with the electoral laws, and that while violence at the Kabanga totalling centre affected the petitioner and both respondents alike, it was the irregular steps taken by the Commission's agent afterwards that triggered the petition. On costs, the ECZ is to pay Miyanda's, to be taxed if not agreed, and Munashabantu, found blameless in the Commission's conduct, bears only her own.
The petition
News Diggers reported from the trial in September that Miyanda, represented by Chizai Zulu of Linus and Partners, alleged irregularities including that results from seven polling stations had been swapped. The ECZ's witness, the constituency returning officer Newton Mudenda, testified that the declared result was valid: 14,812 votes for Munashabantu to 14,330 for Miyanda. The Commission also argued that the GEN 20 result forms Miyanda filed were not valid because they were not accompanied by the other required documents. The Observer's report does not say which of these specific allegations the court accepted beyond the post-voting process at Kabanga.
What happens next
A nullification by the High Court may be appealed to the Constitutional Court, and until any appeal is decided or the time to appeal passes the seat is not formally vacant; the Speaker then declares the vacancy and the ECZ sets a by-election. Neither Munashabantu nor the UPND had been reported as announcing whether they will appeal. The ruling arrives in a week in which, as reported above, the ECZ's conduct of the August count in Mandevu is also the reason that constituency is going back to the polls.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: That a petition by Clive Miyanda against Munashabantu's election was tried before Judge Kazimbe Chenda at Livingstone, with the declared result 14,812 to 14,330 (News Diggers, September). That the Zambian Observer, citing Mwebantu, reported on 29 October that the court has nullified the election, dismissed the misconduct ground and ordered the ECZ to pay costs.
Alleged or unverified: This desk has read one account of the judgment. The judgment itself, the date it was delivered and any reaction from Munashabantu, the UPND or the ECZ have not been seen. Whether an appeal will be lodged is unknown. The reported finding against the ECZ concerns its agent's conduct of the post-voting process; it is not a finding of wrongdoing against the MP, who was expressly found blameless.
Sources: Zambian Observer, “Livingstone High Court has nullified the UPND's Mapatizya Parliamentary seat held by Emelda Munashabantu” (29 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Losing Mapatizya candidate's Gen 20 forms are not valid, ECZ tells court” (26 Sep 2026).